Before Josh Allen was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills and one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, he had a hard time finding a college that was interested in his services.
He had to go the junior college route and prove himself before he could play on the biggest stage. Let’s revisit Allen’s collegiate career and his journey to the NFL.
Josh Allen’s College Football Career
Growing up in California’s Central Valley, Allen was a fan of the Fresno State Bulldogs and dreamed of attending the university. The Allen family regularly attended Bulldogs football and basketball games, but Fresno State showed no interest in Allen when he was in high school.
Allen’s father even tried reaching out to Bulldogs head coach Tim DeRuyter, but the coaching staff didn’t see anything in the future All-Pro quarterback.
Fresno State wasn’t the only team that overlooked Allen at this stage. Believe it or not, there wasn’t a single Division I or Division II program that offered Allen a scholarship.
It’s worth noting that Allen has come a long way since his high school days — not only in terms of his skill set but also when it comes to his build. While the 6’5″, 237-pound Allen looks like a man among boys now, he was rather small coming out of high school. At that point, he was only 6’3″ and weighed just 180 pounds.
The three-sport athlete had to bulk up quite a bit in order to succeed at the collegiate level. With that said, nobody ever doubted Allen’s natural athleticism. He was the leading scorer on Firebaugh High School’s basketball team and he thrived as a pitcher, regularly throwing 90-mile-per-hour heat.
Allen never attended elite camps, and his high school didn’t participate in 7-on-7 tournaments, so he didn’t get the same exposure as other players. This lack of exposure and his smaller build caused Allen to fall through the recruiting cracks.
Still, Allen refused to give up. He decided to go the JUCO route, enrolling at Reedley Junior College. Allen wasn’t even the starter to begin his only season at Reedley, but he earned the starting gig in his fourth game and never looked back.
Reedley’s coaching staff knew what they had in Allen and expected a tidal wave of Division I offers that never came. The only schools that would even consider offering Allen a scholarship were Eastern Michigan and Wyoming. But then Eastern Michigan withdrew their initial scholarship offer when Allen visited Wyoming.
Wyoming liked Allen and compared him to future Carson Wentz. Allen joined the Cowboys and broke out during his junior season. He threw for 3,200 yards and 28 touchdowns while rushing for 523 yards and seven scores.
"It's not by luck that I'm here. It's not by chance. I was put at the University of Wyoming for a reason," @JoshAllenQB on his success at Wyoming. The NFL Draft starts Thursday! #BuildingSomethingSpecial #GoWyo pic.twitter.com/nyP4p9UhqK
— Wyoming Cowboy Football (@wyo_football) April 22, 2018
The NFL took notice, and talent evaluators were intrigued by his tremendous arm strength but recognized he would be a project.
Allen returned to Wyoming for his senior season, even though many onlookers believed he was ready for the league. Unfortunately, he had a disastrous senior season, as his numbers dipped to 1,800 passing yards and 16 touchdowns.
Despite the down year, several draft evaluators — namely Mel Kiper Jr. — had Allen ranked as the No. 1 QB in his class. The Bills weren’t scared off by Allen’s up-and-down college performance and moved up from No. 12 to select him with the seventh pick in the NFL Draft.
The rest, as they say, is history.